The husband of a North Carolina mom who has been missing in the Caribbean island nation of Grenada for over a week believes there was no foul play involved in her disappearance.
Elizabeth “Liz” Waddell, 44, was on a three-week vacation with her pal in the picturesque beach resort neighborhood of Grand Anse when she suddenly vanished last Wednesday.
Her disappearance sparked a frenetic search – and one week on, physical therapist Waddell still remains missing, but her husband, Cailen Waddell, doesn’t suspect foul play was a factor.
Elizabeth Waddell’s husband, Cailen (left), believes “there was no foul play” involved in his wife’s disappearance. Facebook / Liz Waddell
“Despite our exhaustive efforts, we have not been successful,” he wrote in a Wednesday post on FindLiz.com – a website dedicated to the search effort.
“After careful and thoughtful consultation with family, local authorities, the U.S. Embassy, and others here in Grenada, I join authorities in believing there was no foul play.”
“Liz was last seen swimming in the ocean near Grand Anse, around 5:30 PM, far from shore. She communicated her confidence in her swimming and location, as well as the beauty of the island.”
Cailen Waddell, an operations manager for the department of parks, recreation and cultural resources in Cary, thanked authorities for their “compassionate and tireless” efforts to find his wife – but said the investigation isn’t over, even though relatives will start traveling back to the US.
“The missing person investigation into her disappearance will continue, and we are specifically hopeful to determine her actions between the time she was last seen on video and the time she was seen in the water around 5:30, as well as any further sightings. No detail is too small.”
Waddell and her pal touched down on the Caribbean island on July 11 after a flight from Miami.
They spent the first 10 days of their trip in a hotel on the western side of the island, before relocating to another location, which was a pre-planned move.
Surveillance video captured Waddell swimming in the water at around 11:47 a.m.
findliz.com
Details about the mom’s final moments before she vanished have started to come to light.
Waddell’s family has since released a video that showed the mom walking through the backyard near her Airbnb at 11:45 a.m. on July 22.
The mom then entered the water two minutes later before her pal adjusted a beach chair at around 11:53 a.m.
At around 12:04 p.m. Waddell swam toward Grand Anse Beach before going out of shot, according to annotated surveillance video.
Waddell’s pal – who was reportedly taking an online course inside the Airbnb when the mom went into the water — walked towards the jetty around 40 minutes later but returned alone.
At around 5:50 p.m., Waddell was reported missing.
Waddell is a keen travel enthusiast, previously sharing photos from her international adventures with her husband and their adopted adult daughter, Suwan.
“Liz has the adventure bug. She loves to travel, and there’s not a hike she didn’t like that she wanted to try,” Amanda Romano-Harmon, Waddell’s family friend of 25 years, told WRAL.
“She’s a ray of sunshine, and she just she loves to meet new people and experience different cultures and see what the world has to offer. She’s a great friend.”
